1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a barrel of a tampon applicator assembly and methods of forming such a barrel.
2. Description of Related Art
A tampon applicator assembly is used to inject an absorbent or hygienic material, known as a tampon pledget, into a vaginal cavity. Commercial tampon applicator assemblies typically have a barrel and a plunger used to expel a pledget housed in the barrel.
The use of such an assembly requires a user to grip the barrel and guide it easily into the vaginal cavity. This is particularly important since a portion or all of the assembly is out of a direct line of sight of the user during insertion. Accordingly, an assembly that is difficult to grip and control can hinder proper and comfortable delivery of the pledget.
Another problem associated with a difficult to grip and control assembly is that the user often applies excessive gripping force on the barrel to compensate for the lack of gripability. This excessive force may partially deform and/or damage the barrel and/or plunger, thereby distorting the assembly and obstructing the normal pathway of the pledget therefrom. As a result, the user may be required to apply a significant amount of force to eject the pledget from the assembly, which may result in discomfort to the user.
Many factors combine to increase the comfort of the user during the use of a tampon applicator assembly. For example, the user's comfort can be affected by one or more of ease factors, such as the ease with which: the assembly is inserted into the vagina, the pledget is expelled from the assembly, and the spent assembly is removed from the vagina. However, designing a the assembly to incorporate features that improve one or more of these areas can drastically increase the cost of manufacture of the assembly.
Thus, there is a need to provide simple, low cost methods of forming an improved tampon applicator assembly, which increase the user's comfort by addressing one or more of the aforementioned ease factors.